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At ground zero, Sept. 11 gets political

Debate over the location of an Islamic center overshadows memorial events. |
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One of the first people to speak was Nelly Braginsky, whose son died on 9/11 and who flew in from Europe for the rally, who noted Bloomberg's defense of the mosque and said, "Mr. Bloomberg, tell us, do you sleep well? You don't have a bad dream?... Everybody can build everything ... but (do not) put one on a cemetery." She appealed to Obama as a a man with a "family" and urged him to listen.

Conservative radio host Mike Gallagher told the crowd he missed the days of a president "who had the guts to stand up" to fight terrorism, and said he also missed former Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

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Several people wore ribbons indicating they had been at the official memorial service and name reading earlier.

Maria Calisi, who lives in the Bronx and didn't lose anyone but wanted to be at the event, said she came out because the project "isn't appropriate. There seems to be this unspoken truth that we're not allowed to say ... that Islam has anything to do with 9/11 and with 24 subsequent terrorists attacks. It's as if we have to say, oh, Islam has nothing to do with terrorism. Let's speak the truth."

Naomi Goodkin, visiting from Los Angeles, came to the rally because a friend wanted to, and said she was unhappy about the mosque but also thought the rally was a mistake.

"It gives it too much power. We're just feeding the fear and feeding bigotry, and we gotta let it go ... There's so much chaos here, it reminds me of a tent revival. Nobody's really listening. Everybody's just emotion and guts, and that's not where I'm at."

Signs denounced the "Victory mosque." One speaker on the makeshift stage, which had a Jumbotron, mentioned Cordoba House promoter Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf's comments to CNN last week that moving the site could inflame "radicals" in the Mideast, and declared, "That actually sounds like a threat."

Several victims' relatives said in the lead-up to the anniversary that they felt like they needed to be there because it was their chance to speak out, and that they did not view it politically.

Fire Chief Jim Riches, who lost his firefighter son in the twin towers' collapse, had said he planned on attending, and resented family members and victims' groups who were denouncing other relatives for taking part.

"I think (Rauf) is a wolf in sheep's clothing, and we have a right to be heard," he said. "On that day, there's a lot of family people coming from all over the country, they''ll be down there. I think they should let everyone know (how they feel) ... I just think it's wrong, what they're doing. This whole thing has been wrong, I want them to know how we feel about this. It would be nice if they were sensitive to the feelings of the families."

Lee Ielpi, a former firefighter who also lost his firefighter son that day and now runs a tribute center on Liberty Street, adjacent to the site, said he wasn't taking a position for or against the mosque, but said, "Sept. 11, 2010 is a day of remembrance. It's not a day where we should be protesting either for or against a mosque. We should never have a day for burning of any type of religious items, let alone the Quran, and all this will do is lead to a day of more anger, mistrust, incorrect information."

He added that the nation had come together at various points after the attacks, but said, "In the last six months or so there is an undercurrent of hatred that's started. And I know it's not healthy, it's not healthy for the country."

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article referred to Nelly Braginsky as having lost her daughter on 9/11. It was her son who perished.

Because the president isn't willing to bow to poll numbers and popularity and say what 70 percent of the cowards in this country want him to say?

Yes, it's a real leadership vacuum when the President of the United States speaks out in support of the ideals that America was founded upon instead of crapping on American ideals for the sake of the cowards in the conservative movement.

more BS from the left..the whackos screaming intolerance today were out protesting about jobs and justice. The rest of us were there to support 9/11 victims, their families and to speak out against the Imam, the heartless hypocrite tax evading terror monger.

Obama is a failure......to declare publicly that the Muslims have a right to build the Mosque at Ground Zero but not comment on the 'wisdom' of building it then speaking out against the 'insensitivity' of burning the Koran tells me everything I ever needed to know about our Kow-Tow'er-in-Chief.

He condones the building of the Mosque with his silence.

On May 31st of last year when George Tiller 'the Baby Killer' was slain Obama came out within hours to lecture us all about what he thought was horribly wrong.

The VERY NEXT DAY when Pvt. William Long was killed at the Little Rock, Arkansas recuiting center by a Muslim convert just back from recent training in Yemen Obama said......NOTHING.....he said nothing.

He told us not to 'jump to any conclusions' when Major Nidal Hasan shouted 'Allah Ak-bar' and murdered 13 soldiers and injured 29.

When the Panty Bomber struck on Christmas Eve it took Obama 4 tries before he could admit what everybody else knew instictivly.....the guy was a terroist.

All three are tied to the American born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki wo's training even more terrorist in Yemen.

When the Times Square bomber struck that idiot Bloomberg just naturally assumed that it had to be a Tea Partier who was against Health Care.

Now we have the MSM making 70% of the American people out to be bigots because they don't feel it's right to build anything Muslim atop the cemetary of nearly 3,000 of our innocent dead.

This is for those of you that have trouble mastering the simple.......No Islam - No 9/11.

FUNNY such biased down YOUR THROAT Secular Humanist crap from the Left Maggie , you truly disrespect the families of 911 victims!

I suppose the elderly woman who got knocked down was #1 of us and it was a Muslim whom did it ...otherwise???

And also the small child whom "supposedly was shouted at by an Anti Mosque person... I seriously DOUBT he /she was shouting down a child! NOTHING mentioned of his "Parent" obviously "A Supporter" whom would act up and start something hiding behind a child ((classless))

Let me ask you this Maggie...If Muslims were Caucasions "maybee German or some other "Dutch" and bestowed the virtues of loving the Jews and Womens Rights and such as they do???

Would you be vehemently supporting their "Doctrine" of Destroying a Jewish State and eventually Jewish Genocide? as well as a "defeated west???

just curious???

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOO BAD what Islam preaches and much of the Nanny State "Left" preaches is MUCH closer to "Fascism"

It isn't a war on "Arabs" it doesn't matter "their racial makeup or ethnicity" what matters is an awareness of a Doctrine who's propheshy & "Destiny" is a clash with the "West" and "OUR culture" and the elimination of "The Jews"

Another thing before you "throw" around labels such as "Fascist" you also should know Hitler Political Party was the --> "National Socialist German Workers Party" And he took over the banks, NAZIonalized Healthcare and chased the small "Jewish Merchants" out of town in favor of supporting "Corporate Interests that "Benefit The State" -->eg; "The German People

Lee Ielpi, a former firefighter who also lost his firefighter son that day and now runs a tribute center on Liberty Street, adjacent to the site, said he wasn't taking a position for or against the mosque, but said, "Sept. 11, 2010 is a day of remembrance. It's not a day where we should be protesting either for or against a mosque. We should never have a day for burning of any type of religious items let alone the Quran, and all this will do is lead to more a day of more anger, mistrust, incorrect information."

Lee's right. Today was a day for remembering those lost in this horrorible attack by 19 terrorist looking to bring fear to the lives of Americans. Today, and every 9/11, should be dedicated to showing the world we can morn OUR lost, but still maintain OUR belief in the freedoms of America.

If we allow the 9/11 terrorist to divide America, they will have won. If we allow the 9/11 terrorist to bring endless years of fear and hatred to America, they will have won. We, Americans, are better than that.

What if Barack Obama was just an ordinary man who was sent to live in Iran? I bet he would have a different opinion of Islam, and he would beg to almighty God to return to America and banish any possible insertion of Mulsim mores into our society.

People who have been spoiled by America's freedoms do not realize when and how those freedoms can slowly erode unless we fight back.

England now has five Sharia courts to accommodate their Muslim populations. Some of their rulings have been barbaric. Is America next? Will that be us in 10 years?

What if Barack Obama was just an ordinary man who was sent to live in Iran? I bet he would have a different opinion of Islam, and he would beg to almighty God to return to America and banish any possible insertion of Mulsim mores into our society.

People who have been spoiled by America's freedoms do not realize when and how those freedoms can slowly erode unless we fight back.

England now has five Sharia courts to accommodate their Muslim populations. Some of their rulings have been barbaric. Is America next? Will that be us in 10 years?

Yesterday I was at Disneyland. I looked around at all those innnocent people spending time with their families and laughing. Then I thought, what would radical Muslims do to this place of happiness if they could?

People were scorched to death and incinerated at their desks at the towers and the Pentagon on 9/11. People were forced to leap to their deaths. People were beheaded on live television. And yet we hear "move on, America. Get over it already. You're being intolerant about this mosque."

haha, I love it when conservatives use CAPS LOCK. Such reasonable and intelligent souls. I hear Jesus was a huge fan of caps lock too, because he espoused shouting to get your point across and making broad generalizations about people different than himself.

Also, Tom in Delaware, I think it's kind of effed up that you're upset about the center meant to bring peace and harmony in the community being built "atop" the cemetery even though you don't mind the liquor-selling strip club built "atop" it.

Typical conservative; obviously cares about his ***** more than he cares about what Jesus taught.

haha, I love it when conservatives use CAPS LOCK. Such reasonable and intelligent souls. I hear Jesus was a huge fan of caps lock too, because he espoused shouting to get your point across and making broad generalizations about people different than himself.

Also, Tom in Delaware, I think it's kind of effed up that you're upset about the center meant to bring peace and harmony in the community being built "atop" the cemetery even though you don't mind the liquor-selling strip club built "atop" it.

Typical conservative; obviously cares about his ***** more than he cares about what Jesus taught.

Keep it classy right wing. You really represent yourselves well.

Were you really stupid enough to say that this Mosque is meant to bring 'Peace and Harmony'....well, if ther good Imam really wanted to 'build bridges' and to foster an attitude of 'communication and tolerence' then he might have considered the sentiments of the familes of those who were slaughtered in the name of Allah.....for those whose last choice in life was to either be burned alive, be crushed into paste or to jump to their deaths.....real considerate of him....no wonder you support him.

All you need to know Lib is that there is NO WAY this Mosque is going to be built....NO WAY....and since it's become politicized it will absolutely be a part of the Anti-Obama, Anti-Democrat tsunami that is going to strip the Progressives of their political power.

September 11, 2010 Founder of Islamic charity convicted of funneling money to Chechen jihadists Islamic "charities" supporting jihadists: funny how that keeps happening. And it does because there is not the traditional separation between combatant and charitable activities in zakat as there is in the Western tradition, where charitable groups are strictly non-combatant. Rather, Qur'an 9:60 makes no such distinction when discussing groups to whom zakat may be allotted, including those fighting "in the cause of Allah" (jihad fi sabil Allah).

An update on this story, and yet another report related to the "volatile Caucasus." One can't help but wonder which attack (or attacks) in our years archived stories about the region might have been the fruits of Sedaghaty's "charity."

"Founder of Islamic Charity Convicted," from Right Side News, September 11:

After a week-long trial, a federal court in Eugene, Oregon has convicted Pete Seda, the founder of an Islamic charity accused of funneling $150,000 to Chechen mujahideen. Seda, also known as Pirouz Sedaghaty, was charged with conspiring to move money out of the United Sates without declaring it, as required by federal law, and with filing false tax returns to hide the fact that the money ever existed. According to federal officials, Seda accepted a large donation intended to support "our Muslim brothers in Chychnia," and then surreptitiously shifted the money to Saudi Arabia in the form of difficult to trace traveler's checks. The lifeblood of terrorism is money--if we can stop the flow of money to violent extremist organizations, we'll be safer both here and abroad," U.S. Attorney Dwight C. Holton said in a statement. "By lying to the IRS about where this money went, the defendant sought to hide the true destination of this money." Holton continued, "The jury's verdict demonstrates once again the critical role--and effectiveness--of civilian criminal courts in the battle against terrorism." During the trial, officials described how they lost track of the money when it was deposited in Saudi Arabia, but they suspected that it eventually made its way into the hands of Chechen rebels. Prosecutors had argued that Seda had a "dark side," one that was "insistent on helping the cause of the mujahideen covertly, secretly, and without leaving a paper trail." Seda came under the scrutiny of U.S. law enforcement because of his leadership within the U.S. branch of al Haramain Islamic Foundation (AHF), an international organization that has been banned by the United States, Saudi Arabia, and the United Nations for its support of international terrorist organizations. During the trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Cardani told jurors that "al Haramain subscribed to a very violent form of Islam." He told the jury that the organization supported "violent jihad...aggressive, kill people jihad." Knowing of the organization's role in the global terrorist support structure, Seda opened up the American branch of al Haramain in Ashland, Oregon. Despite attempts by the defense to paint Seda as a man dedicated to interfaith dialogue and peace building, the government presented witnesses who describe the "darker" side of the defendant. Former congregants of AHF detailed how they would occasionally hear fiery prayers denouncing the United States and Muslim integration in the West. A former employee, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, explained that it was his job was to distribute moderate materials to non-Muslims, but to provide "true believers" with copies of the "Noble Quran," which contained an appendix entitled, "A Call to Jihad: Holy Fighting in Allah's Cause," extolling the righteousness of violent jihad. Gartenstein-Ross also testified how he had distributed Mohammad bin Jamil Zino's "Islamic Guidelines for Individual and Social Reform." In the book, Zino explains: "Jihad is obligatory on every Muslim in two ways: by spending one's wealth or offering oneself for fighting in the cause of Allah."...Posted by Marisol on September 11, 2010 7:05 PM

From Ridiculous: "I don't even think I understand how you people can possibly tell yourselves that you're not disgusting bigot pigs. How does a brain even process such crap when reality is so easy to see?"